


"My existence was a mistake"

by readeverystory



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Gen, i wrote this instead of working, no idea what this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:22:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,598
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27603457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/readeverystory/pseuds/readeverystory
Summary: Your sister is in trouble”, said Poseidon, looking back at the water.That got my attention. "Estelle is in trouble?”, I asked. “But how-?"Poseidon held up one hand, cutting me off instantly. "No”, he said, “it's not Estelle. It is your other sister. My child.”I almost choked on my own spit. "My other what?!"The sea god looked up, his eyes filled with confusion. "Your other sister. Natalie", he said as if that was the most natural thing in the world.Natalie, I thought, of course I have a sister named Natalie."WHY DON'T I KNOW THAT?", I shouted at Poseidon, which was, admittedly, not the best thing to do.Poseidon finally decides to reveal to Percy that he has a sister. A fact he has kept hidden for a reason, because Natalie is not your average Halfblood.
Relationships: Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson & Original Female Character(s), Percy Jackson & Poseidon
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys. Here we are again. Honestly, I have no idea what this is but I had to write it. I´ve had this story in mind for years now (like actual years) but never put it down to words. It is inspired by this scene between Poseidon and Percy at the end of TLO. You remember that? Poseidon told Percy he would send his other children to Camp Half-Blood, Percy answers something like "Ha ha" and thinks it´s a joke but Poseidon never confirms it is. I´ve always wondered why. When Heros of Olympus got published I thought we might see a kid of Neptune, which would explain Poseidon´s behaivour, but nope. So, now I wrote my own story, cause this bothered me way too much. 
> 
> Set after all of Uncle Rick´s books, including Trials of Apollo.

Percy´s POV  
It was a perfect summer day for me, so naturally everything had to go wrong. Because nothing, nothing in my life can ever be perfect or peaceful or anything but a total disaster. That is simply not possible.  
Annabeth and I were visiting Camp Half-Blood for a week. We had been looking forward to some downtime with friends, before college would start again and take over our lives once more. It was a lovely day and we had split up for a few hours since Annabeth had decided to meet up with Leo who had invited her to look at some new machine he had been working on.  
“It's absolutely awesome”, he had said, and I had no doubt that it was (every single one of Leo`s inventions was absolutely awesome), though I had to admit that his smoking hair had been a little alarming. Still, Annabeth had gone with him anyway.  
“I have to check it out”, Annabeth had told me. “Maybe it´ll be useful.”  
I had shrugged, not eager to set myself on fire if not necessary and had kissed her on the cheek. “I'll see at the campfire then.”  
After Annabeth ran off, I strolled around camp for a while, without any particular destination in mind. I went to stables and had a chat with Blackjack, had a tiny fight with Clarisse and had talked to Nico and Will. But ultimately, I had found myself, as I often do, drawn to the ocean with its waves and fresh salted air.  
And that's when the disaster hit me, because right there at the beach sat my father.  
Now, I have a quite decent relationship with my father, at least for a demigod. Poseidon and I had had some decent conversations in the past and arguably I had seen more of my godly parent over the last few years than most other demigods did in their whole life. But I still couldn't avoid feeling dread in my stomach when I saw the sea god because, well, Poseidon, though I do like him, is still a god and the gods rarely visit unless they have awful news. So, I have to admit that for a second, I was tempted to just turn around, go back to the Camp and pretend I had never seen Poseidon. But deep down I knew it was no use. Poseidon had already sensed me. Plus, I knew, I would never be able to live with myself if I had the knowledge that there was someone somewhere who needed my help and had chosen to ignore it.  
I sighed and went down the beach.  
Poseidon was dressed in his typical Hawaiian shirt and Khaki shorts, a fishing root in his hand. He could´ve been easily mistaken for some regular dude who had a slightly odd fashion sense. A tourist maybe. I, of course, knew better.  
"Hey, Dad", I said, as I approached. "What's up?”  
In my head I chanted. Please, just let this be a regular visit. Please don´t have a mission for me.  
Hope, as they say, never dies after all.  
"Percy", Poseidon said, glancing at me with a smile, before looking back to the sea, "it is so good to see you, son. I have a mission for you."  
I sighed. Wonderful.  
"Can't it wait?”, I asked without really expecting a positive answer. “I have plans for dinner tonight."  
That was no lie. Annabeth´s and my anniversary was coming up and I had booked a table in a fancy New York restaurant. Mostly, because I had heard that the architecture of the building was astonishing. But also, because Annabeth thought I couldn't pull off surprises, so, you know, I had to prove her wrong.  
Now, though, it seemed Annabeth would be correct as usual. Because as usual the gods had to come between me and my perfect plans.   
"I'm afraid not. Your sister is in trouble”, said Poseidon, looking back at the water.  
That got my attention. "Estelle is in trouble?”, I asked. “But how-?"  
Poseidon held up one hand, cutting me off instantly. "No”, he said, “it's not Estelle. It is your other sister. My child.”  
I almost choked on my own spit. "My other what?!"  
The sea god looked up, his eyes filled with confusion. "Your other sister. Natalie", he said as if that was the most natural thing in the world.  
Natalie, I thought, of course I have a sister named Natalie.  
"WHY DON'T I KNOW THAT?", I shouted at Poseidon, which was, admittedly, not the best thing to do.  
My father frowned in confusion. "Because it has never been important."   
Sometimes I marvel at my own self-control. Self-control like the fact that I was able to restrain myself from punching Poseidon in the face right in this second.  
"Anyway”, my father said, as if he hadn't just revealed life-changing information, “your sister is in trouble and needs help. Your help. You have to go to Canada. One of the Hippocampi will give you a ride."  
I opened his mouth to say something. What that something was, I wasn't sure, but it didn't matter anyway because just in that second Poseidon was gone, leaving nothing behind but the smell of the ocean.  
I sighed and stared out at the sea. "A little heads up about having siblings would've been nice", I said to the waves. "On the other hand, I'm not even sure why I'm surprised. Why does anything at all surprise me anymore?"  
The waves seemed to agree with me as they gently crashed at the shore.


	2. Chapter 2

I wished that Poseidon had at least sent me a talkative Hippocampus. That way I would´ve been distracted from all the questions and worry in my head. I wondered what kind of trouble my sister was in. Would I come in time to save her? Would I be able to? Did she know about me? Did she even know she was a demigod? Was she even old enough to know such stuff? What if she was a baby?   
That last thought scared me so much, I almost slid off the Hippocampus.   
I could not handle a baby. Not right now, anyway. Plus, Annabeth probably wouldn't be very happy if I came home with a baby. That would lead to a lot of awkward questions. But, Natalie, she had to be a baby, didn't she? Otherwise she would have been a potential candidate for the Great Prophecy. She had to have been born after the war with Kronos, right? After the pact between the big three gods had ended. That was the only logical explanation, wasn't it?  
I sighed. So many unanswered questions. And it wasn´t just that, that bothered me. I had thought Poseidon and I trusted each other by now, you know, since I had saved the world multiple times in the last few years and all that, but apparently, we didn't. "Because if we did”, I said to the sea, “I would never sit on some Hipposcampus's back and ride to fucking Canada."  
Hey, watch it, mister, the Hippocampus said. My family is from Canada.  
I sighed again. Great, now I had offended my way of transportation. This was going to be a fantastic day.

We arrived in Canada in just a few short hours at which I was quite impressed.  
Welcome to Vancouver, the Hippocampus growled at me, as I slid off his back.  
I´ll admit, I´m not the best at geography, but I was pretty sure that Vancouver was at the West Coast and New York at the East. Still, I didn't question how I'd come here. Mythological beings travelled differently than humans. Swimming around the continent in a matter of hours was not the weirdest thing I had ever experienced.   
"Thanks”, I said, “But how am I supposed to find… Natalie?"  
I still wasn't comfortable calling her my sister.  
The Hippocampus made a weird move as if he was shrugging.  
No idea, man. I was told to drop you off here, he said. I did my job, I don't know more than that.  
And just like that he was gone.  
Well, okay then, I thought and turned around. At least the Hippocampus had dropped me off in a city, which meant that food couldn't be that far. So naturally, as I do in every crisis, I decided to hunt for some cheeseburgers.

The burger place I found was great. They even took my soaked US currency without a blink. In fact, it was so great that I should've known something was off, years of experience should´ve been enough to help me figure that one out. But I was foolish enough to think the uneasy feeling in my stomach was just me being hungry. I only realized that I was wrong when I found Nereus, the water god I had captured once, sitting at one of the tables in the corner. How I had missed the smell of rotting fish was a whole other mystery to me.  
"A brat of Poseidon here in my favorite restaurant", Nereus said and threw down his own burger in disgust, "is there no escaping the stench of your kind? First, the girl and now you. Ugh."  
Normally, I would've just ignored the comment. I am the son of Poseidon, I helped beat the Titans and the Giants, which means a lot of people hate me. Most of them know better than to attack me. But insults are pretty common in my life.  
But I´m not dense or, if you ask Annabeth, I have my brighter moments, and I knew that Nereus - a sea god who possibly knows everything - being here, couldn´t be a coincidence. Also, there was something fishy about the way he had talked just then (and by fishy I´m not referring to the smell that came out of his mouth).  
“What do you mean ´the girl`?”, I asked, walking over to where the god sat. “Have you seen another child of Poseidon in this town?”  
Nereus grinned, revealing his rotting, yellow teeth. “Ah, did that upstart of a god finally decide to tell his son about his other mistake he´s made? Well, that's a surprise.”  
I decided to ignore that. “Do you know where she is or don´t you?”  
Nereus raised his eyebrows. “Nah, nah, nah, Perseus Jackson. You know how this works. You catch me once and I answer you a question. The bargain is over.”  
“I could always catch you again”, I suggested.  
Nereus shook his head. “But that would be no fun, would it? Repeating something you´ve already done?”  
I wasn't sure if I agreed with him. Putting a god in his place a second time? That sounded like fun to me. But it was clear Nereus wouldn´t play this game again.  
“So, what do you want me to do then?”, I asked.  
Nereus grinned. “You know nothing about your sister, right?”  
I hesitated. What was that supposed to mean?  
“I don´t”, I answered slowly, “just that her name is Natalie.”  
Nereus´s grin got wider. "Well, this could be interesting then", he said and tapped on the table, clearly considering whatever information he had.  
“I think”, he said, “hm, yes. I will help you, just this once.”  
“You will?”, I asked surprised.  
“Yes, Perseus Jackson. I will. You'll find your sister at the harbor, of course. And maybe, you should hurry, she got herself into quite a bit of danger."   
"Wait", I asked as the old god got up, “why are you telling me this?"   
Nereus only laughed. "It could make a great story that's why."   
And with that the old sea god was gone, leaving behind the smell of old rotting fish. I lay down my burger, I had lost my appetite.


	3. Chapter 3

I found the harbour just fine. The smell of water gave it away. Plus, the big white sailing boat I spotted from hundreds of meters away helped a little. I also found my sister just fine. The fact that she was fighting with a huge Kraken-like sea monster kinda gave her away.  
The creature was huge. I had fought my fair share of giants before, but this creature would´ve towered over them all. It was a combination of a Kraken and a snake, with eight tentacles around its body and a snake-like purple head coming out from its front. It opened its mouth and revealed several rows of sharp, white teeth. Apparently, the Kraken didn't have good mouth hygiene, as I could see a lot of stuff stuck in between its teeth. There was piece of wood, probably from a wrecked sailing boat, a shoe and, I swallowed, a torn orange T-Shirt.  
From the creature's mouth emerged a horrible shrieking sound directed at a girl that was standing at the shore. Natalie, I was sure, my sister.  
The first thing I thought when I saw her was: Phew, she's not a baby. In fact, she wasn't even a child as I had suspected, she was probably around my age, seventeen or eighteen. Which puzzled me even more. How had she survived this long, why hadn´t she ever been to Camp Half-Blood and who had trained her? Because, clearly, she knew how to fight. She stood tall, unbothered by the sound the Kraken made, a long sword, made from Celestial Bronze, in her hand.  
“Do you have enough already?”, Natalie shouted at the monster.  
The Kraken shrieked as a response.  
“Fine”, she grumbled and gripped her sword tighter. “Don´t say, I didn't warn you.”  
With that she charged. I marveled at her abilities for a second. She ducked away from the creature's head, skitting across the wet pavement and hit one of the tentacles, slashing at the skin. The creature shrieked again, but I could hear it was more out of fury and less out of pain. Natalie must´ve known that too, since she straightened up, ready to charge again. But I could see from her movements, how tired she was. She must´ve been fighting this monster for quite some time. Eventually, the monster would be faster than her. She needed help. And fast.  
I drew my pen and uncapped it.  
“Need some help?”, I shouted as Riptide grew in my hand. Natalie turned around and blinked in my direction. She was paralyzed for a fragment of a second as she took me in, which was enough for the monster to lung one of its heavy tentacles at her.  
“Watch out”, I shouted.  
Natalie turned, her eyes widened, but she managed to dive to the side just in time. I ran toward her to help but she was already on her feet again. We were out of the monster´s reach for the moment, which gave Natalie the time to straighten her jacket and curse in a language I didn't understand. Arabic, maybe?  
“Sorry”, I said, once I stood next to her “You must be Natalie. I´m Percy. I-“  
“I know who you are”, Natalie hissed annoyed. “And I know who sent you. Now, quit talking for a moment and help me, would you?”  
I blinked in surprise, before nodding.  
“Okay”, I said.  
We raised our swords and started hacking at the monster. It shrieked and hissed at us and more than once I narrowly avoided its sharp teeth, but eventually the monster retreated to the lake.  
I looked at the bubbles that had built where the monster had gone underwater.  
“It will be back”, Natalie said darkly. “We only made it furious. You don't happen to have Medusa's head with you, do you?”  
I looked at her dumbfounded. “No, why?”  
She rolled her eyes at me. “Honestly, why would Poseidon even bother to send you here? You don't know anything. You're not helpful at all and I have survived this long on my own. Haven´t I, Dad?”  
She shouted the last sentence out into the harbour. The water didn't give an answer.  
Natalie snorted, unsurprised. She turned back to me.  
“Just go away, Percy”, she said. “I can handle this on my own.”  
Then she turned around and stomped away, kicking a stone in front of her. I stared after her, I have to admit, I was getting a little angry. I mean, I wasn't helpful? Excuse me, but hadn't I saved the world? Twice? Who did this girl think she was?  
“Hey”, I shouted and ran after her. Natalie didn´t turn around until I grabbed her arm.  
“What?”, she asked, still angry. “Are you going to tell me that Dad sent you here for a reason? That he wants to help me? Because screw him, he never cared about me before.”  
That wasn’t what I was about to tell her, but her words hit me, and my own anger vanished as soon as it had come. I let go of her arm. Natalie, I realized, was just a Halfblood, just as fucked up as everybody else. Maybe she was even more fucked up because it didn't look like she had a Camp to turn to or a Chiron who took care of her.  
I sighed and ran one hand through my hair. “Look, I don't know what problems you have with Poseidon and if you don't want anything to do with me after this that's fine. But right now, there's a monster out there, threatening this whole city and I would like to get rid of it. After that we can both go our separate ways and forget this ever happened, okay?”  
Natalie looked at me for a long time, considering what I´d said. Then she sighed and stretched out her hand. “Hi, I´m Natalie. I´m the daughter of Poseidon and you are?”  
“Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon”, I answered, taking her hand. “Nice to meet you.”  
Natalie smiled a little at that. “You know, I think we have some time until the monster comes back. Are you hungry? I know a great burger place.”  
“As long as it's not the one four blocks from here”, I answered.  
She raised her eyebrows quizzically but shook her head. “No, there's a different one.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry people. I forgot to update, I was pretty busy with work and stuff.. Anyways, here you are

My whole world lit up when I bit into my cheeseburger. I closed my eyes and sighed loudly.  
“This is Elysium”, I said blissfully.   
Natalie laughed. “You look ridiculous.”   
I blinked at her. She had taken a few bites of her own burger already and didn't look quite as angry as just a few minutes ago.  
“Do I?”, I asked.  
She nodded and grinned. “Positive.”  
I shrugged and grinned back. "There are worse things."   
We ate in silence after that, both too famished to talk much but as soon as I´d devoured my burger, I picked up the conversation again.  
“Okay”, I said, “how about you´ll answer some of my questions while we wait?”  
Natalie didn´t look particularly keen on the idea, but she nodded. “Fine. I´ll answer as many as I can If”, she added, “you'll do the same.”  
I nodded. “Fair enough. First up, why would we need Medusa's head to destroy the monster?”  
Natalie blinked in surprise. “Oh. I thought you were going to ask something different. But, okay. The monster is the Ethiopian Sea Monster. You know, the one slain by the original Perseus to save Andromeda? He used Medusa's head to turn it into stone. It has never been killed in any other way.”  
“Oh”, I said. “That could be a problem.”  
Natalie shrugged. “What isn´t?”  
I couldn't argue with that.  
"Hm", I said and wanted to open my mouth to ask something else, but Natalie cut me off.  
“It's my turn”, she said and leaned forward, suddenly seeming very eager. “Tell me, what is life like at the Camps?”  
This time it was me who blinked in surprise. I noticed she had said camps, plural. So, she must know about the Roman demigods as well. Strange, I thought. “Uhm, well, it's nice. There's a lot of great people there. Lots of training, as well of course. But”, I said, “you could always just come and see for yourself.”  
Natalie smiled a little sadly “No, I don't think that's possible. Camp… isn't for me.”  
I wanted to ask what she meant, but something in the way she looked at me, stopped me. Please, her eyes seemed to beg, that is one question I cannot answer, Percy, her eyes seemed to say, not now at least.  
“My turn”, I said finally.  
Natalie motioned for me to go ahead, her fingers trembling, as if she was scared, I would ask the wrong questions.  
“Back at the harbour”, I said, “when I wanted to introduce myself, you said you knew who I was. How?”  
Natalie laughed and relaxed again. “That's your question? Percy everyone in the mythical world knows who you are. You saved the world. Twice, I might add.”  
I frowned. “You know about that? But – how?”  
She laughed again, clearly amused by my confusion. “I don't live under a rock, dumbass. Plus, as a daughter of Poseidon, you´ll understand that I have added interest in your adventures.”  
“Well, I´m sorry for asking, but I didn't even know you existed until this morning", I grumbled, a little embarrassed but strangely pleased.   
My comment was supposed to be a teasing, a little joke, but Natalie's mood shifted again. She stopped laughing immediately when she heard it.  
“No, of course you wouldn't have known about me”, she whispered.  
Blame it on my ADHD that causes me to speak before I think, but I couldn't stop myself from blurting out: “Why?”.   
Natalie, thankfully, didn't take it personally. She just sighed. “Let's just say that my existence was a huge mistake on Poseidon´s part. Acknowledging me was never an option for him.”   
“Because of the pact of the big three?”, I asked. “But that was abolished almost two years ago.”   
Natalie shook her head. “No, it's not that. I wasn't part of that deal since the Great Prophecy could never have applied to me.”   
Now, I was completely lost. What the hell was she talking about? I was about to press for more information when a screech outside interrupted us.  
Natalie rolled her eyes and grabbed her sword. “Here we go again, I guess. Are you ready for round two?”  
I grinned. “Always.”


	5. Chapter 5

When we stepped outside, I realized instantly that Natalie had been right. The creature was furious. It was screeching loudly, spitting a bunch of salt water along the way.   
“How do we kill it?”, I asked while we ran towards it, “Without Medusa's head, I mean.”   
“No idea”, Natalie answered.   
“If only there was another way to turn this thing into stone.”   
It was an offhand comment, not meant seriously in any way, but Natalie suddenly stopped and froze.   
“What?”, I asked and turned to her.   
Natalie was biting her lip.   
“I think”, she said hesitantly, “I might know a way.”   
“Really? How?”   
She didn't answer, just stared past me at the monster, eyes calculating. “Do you think you can handle that thing on your own for a few minutes? Distract it?”   
“Sure”; I said, “But what-?”   
Natalie didn't let me finish. “Perfect”, she said and ran past me.   
I blinked. “Of course”, I grumbled, “don´t tell me the plan. Who needs to know plans, right? So overrated.”   
Then I ran after her.

Distracting the monster was easy. Staying a life while doing so, not so much. The Kraken had gotten faster since our first round. Apparently its speed was determined by how pissed it was at its opponents and right now, it was pretty pissed. I slashed, hacked and tried not to get eaten by the giant mouth, while also looking out for Natalie. I wasn't sure what she was doing. She stood a safe distance away, rummaging through her backpack.   
I hesitated. Wait, where had she gotten that from?   
But before I could contemplate that mystery, I had to refocus my attention on the monster. It screamed and let its tentacle fall in my direction. I jumped to the side.   
“Natalie?”, I shouted, “whatever you're doing, please do it fast.”   
“On it”, she called back. “Just a few more seconds.”   
“Okay”, I answered, grinded my teeth and attacked again.   
I slashed at the tentacle, the monster screamed and lifted it, ready to slam it down on me. I looked at it, then turned around to dive out of the way. But the Kraken wasn't stupid, it had learned from my past attacks and had placed its other tentacles around me. I would have to climb over them and there was no way I would be fast enough, even with my years of climbing the lava wall. I was trapped without any chance to escape.   
Having no choice I turned back to the creature and did the only thing I had left. I lifted Riptide, it wouldn't kill the Kraken but if I was about to be crushed I wanted it to be at least hurtful to the monster. Then I pressed my eyes shut, expecting to be as flat as a pancake at any second, but then…. nothing happened. Slowly, I opened my eyes and came face to face with the strangest statue ever created. The Ethiopian Sea Monster had turned into stone.   
I turned around, just in time to see Natalie, daughter of Poseidon, my sister, standing there, a staff in one hand and a wand in the other. I stared at her, her gaze flickered toward me and for a second we looked at each other. Then her eyes rolled back into her head and she sank to the ground.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Life and work and everything was... a lot lately. But here we are. Second to last chapter!!! Let´s gooo.

I rushed to her, exhaustion from my previous fight immediately forgotten.   
“Natalie”, I shouted and fell to my knees next to her. I shook her by her shoulders and she moaned softly. Her eyes fluttered. I breathed a sigh of relief. She would be okay.   
In a practiced manner, I reached for my emergency supply of Ambrosia and Nectar before I hesitated. Would this be dangerous for her? She was a daughter of Poseidon, but apparently that wasn´t all. What if I burned her? Natalie moaned again and I decided to throw caution in the wind and act.   
My concerns were unfounded as it turned out. As soon as the Nectar touched her lips, Natalie´s eyes opened. After another gulp, she pushed me away and sat up.   
"Careful", I cautioned.   
"I'm f-", she began then pressed her hand to her temple. "Ow."   
“You okay?”   
She nodded slowly, but continued to press her hand against her temple. “I'll be fine. I just used up too much energy.”   
“You did too much magic” I said, “that's what you mean, isn't it?”   
She looked up at me. "So, you saw that, huh?"   
"I did", I confirmed. "I just don't understand. How is that even possible? You´re a Halfblood, your father is Poseidon...”   
“And my mother", she said, "is an Egyptian magician. Distant relative of the Pharaoh Hatshepsut.”   
I stared, processing this information for a second. “You're a demigod and a magician?”   
Natalie nodded, then sighed. “It's not as fun as you think, though. The Pantheons aren't supposed to mix, it's too dangerous.”   
I didn't know what to say. I ran through all the information I had about her.   
Camp is not for me, she had said. My existence was a huge mistake on Poseidon´s part. Acknowledging me was never an option for him. The Great prophecy could´ve never applied to me.   
“Woah”, I said baffled and sat back, “that's crazy.”   
Natalie smiled, a little sad. “How about some ice cream? I could use something sweet after that adventure.” 

We found a Dairy Queen around the corner and Natalie treated us to two big buckets of chocolate cream. We sat down on a bench facing the ocean.   
"So your mother is a magician?", I asked, still unsure if I had gotten it right, "like the Kane siblings I met."  
"Yes", Natalie confirmed, "she also used to sail competitively, which attracted Poseidon's interests. When they realized who or rather what the other one was, it was already too late. Both of them were very sorry I'd been born."  
I was a little angry at that. How could they have been sorry for the birth of this smart, talented, young woman? "Why would they be?"   
Natalie shrugged.. "You know how dangerous life as a Halfblood is. Now imagine that danger times two. Plus, it's never good when the pantheons mix. You've seen some results of that, usually they're bad. It's better not to risk anything."   
She didn't sound bitter about any of it. Her voice was surprisingly neutral, like she was just relaying facts she had accepted a long time ago.   
"So, you've never been to camp or to those things where the magicians live…"  
"Nomes", Natalie put in, "and no, I´ve never been there. The nome in Vancouver knows I exist but they are kind enough to just ignore me.”   
“Kind?”, I asked, shocked, “how is that kind?”   
Natalie sighed and looked at me. “Percy you have to understand, my existence is a danger and a risk to everyone involved. It would probably be safer if I was dead.”   
“You mean”, I said hesitantly, not even wanting to think about it, “it would be better if the gods killed you?”   
Natalie nodded. “Or the House of Life. The kindest thing they can do is just ignore me and cast a blind eye.”   
“Is that why Dad never told me about you? To protect you?”   
Natalie shrugged. “Maybe, I don't know. He probably figured that I would be safer if fewer people know about me.”   
I looked down at my ice cream, which had melted into an unappetizing brown puddle. What Natalie was saying didn't sound right. She was being punished for her existence, for factors she had had no control over. It reminded me too much of Calypso, cast out on a remote island for being the daughter of Atlas.   
Natalie seemed to sense my distress and smiled at me. “Really, Percy, I´m fine.”   
I wanted to believe her, but I wasn't so sure. Still, there was no point in arguing.   
"Are there others like you?", I asked finally.   
"A few", Natalie said, "though not many. There's another one here in Vancouver. Max, he's a son of Hermes, follows the path of Thoth."  
She rolled her eyes and grinned. “He´s a horribly annoying guy. You would like him.”   
I breathed, a little relieved. At least she wasn't completely alone.   
"What path do you follow?" I asked.   
"Heket, she's a goddess of water. A minor one but I like her style."   
We talked a little more after that, but eventually the sun was setting and I knew I needed to get back home.   
“Annabeth will be worried”, I said apologetically, “she had bad experiences with me disappearing.”   
Natalie smiled. “Of course. I´ll walk you to the harbour.”   
We walked slowly, neither of us willing to cut this meeting shorter than was absolutely necessary. But after a few minutes we arrived nonetheless.   
“It was nice meeting you, Percy”, Natalie said, not quite looking at me.   
“You too”, I said honestly. “And please, if you ever need my help, send me a signal, okay? I don't trust Dad.”   
Natalie smiled. “I will. If you´ll do the same.”   
I nodded. “Of course.”   
We were interrupted by a snickering sound. The Hippocampus had returned.   
“I think that's your cue”, Natalie said and stared down at the water.   
“Yes”, I said and added before I could lose my courage: “How about a hug? We are siblings after all.”   
Natalie looked up. For a second I thought her eyes were glittering with tears, but before I could confirm my suspicions she drew me into her arms.


	7. Chapter 7

Poseidon greeted me at Long Island beach, standing in the water like he hadn't vanished at all.   
“Everything all right?”, he asked me and his voice was strange. It sounded like concern, maybe? But that couldn´t be right, could it?   
“Yes”, I answered. “She's safe.”   
This time I was sure, I saw his shoulders relax and his grip around the fishing rot loosen just a little.   
“You can´t watch, can you?”, I asked, “not constantly, I mean. Since you have to ignore her existence.”   
Poseidon didn't confirm my suspicions. He just looked at me for a moment, his eyes filled with sorrow, then looked back at the sea.   
I shook my head, there was no point in arguing, I reminded myself. “Well, I should get back to Camp. They´re probably looking for me.”   
Poseidon nodded, then added: “Percy, I need one more favour of you.”   
I stopped in my tracks.   
Poseidon turned to me. “You cannot tell anyone about her. Not even your friends. Not until it is necessary. You need to swear on the river Styx.”   
“But-”   
“Please, Percy, do it for me.It´s too dangerous.” I had never seen my father or any god plead in my life. But now Poseidon, the almighty sea god looked at me in despair. I had to think about what Natalie had said. He probably figured that I would be safer if fewer people know about me.   
“Fine”, I said reluctantly, “I swear on the river Styx not to tell anyone about Natalie.”   
Poseidon relaxed. “Thank you. Now go on, Annabeth is looking for you everywhere.”


End file.
